democrats are going to protect social security and medicare. republicans have stated they want to cut social security and medicare to the point that shut down the government, they say,

send the nation into a fall, which raises prices for everyone if we do not cut social security and medicare. i ain't going to do it. >> there you go. >> thanks, bud. >> thanks, joe biden. >> thanks, biden. >> he did it again. >> thanks, biden. desantis doesn't have a lot of control. you can say thanks, biden. >> ron desantis' airport is really bad, but miami airport? >> come on. that's part of the joke. this shows mika's humor. she knows that desantis -- it's not his airport. >> miami-dade. yeah. >> south florida, miami-dade. >> but it's not-not -- >> but that's the joke. you blame the hurricanes and iran, thanks, biden. the level of stupidity reaching new highs. >> incredible.

president biden, that was him right there, speaking with staffers at the democratic national committee headquarters in d.c. yesterday with the message that republicans would,. >> thanks, desantis. >> if they take over congress in the upcoming midterms. >> you blame somebody for something that they have nothing to do with. that's a level of stupidity, willie, that, you know, our -- >> and if things don't go well for you, just say you're an old donkey. >> donkey. >> seriously. >> well, you're an old elephant. like, what? >> staff giving him high-fives, way to call him an old donkey. >> i swear that happened. >> they lose a little punch, those lines, when you're reading them off a piece of paper, don't they? not quite as effective. but that was a fascinating debate. we'll talk with charlie crist, governor desantis' opponent in a few minutes. we have a huge debate coming up tonight in the state of pennsylvania with john fetterman

and dr. oz. >> willie talking about things that are actually happening. welcome back. thank you, willie. >> how does this -- they're going to have closed captions on the debate as well? did oz agree to that? >> he did agree to that. there will be monitors behind the moderators so when the question is asked it will be transcribed to john fetterman can read it. dr. oz's responses to questions will be put up on the monitor so john fetterman can respond to them. not unlike what we saw in dasha's interview with john fetterman where he read the questions off a computer monitor. >> let me ask you this, willie, are people going to scream at dasha for reporting that too? how dare you report the fact they'll have closed captions at the debate. it's so crazy. people get mad at dasha burns for reporting and i've soon this morning people accusing us of

being hysterical or running democrats' chances in the ground. i can't watch anymore. they're saying democrats will lose. republicans say they're panicking at "morning joe." we're calling the race a toss-up. we say it could go either way. i don't know. if you're cheerleading, go elsewhere, right, willie? >> yeah. if you want to ignore what elise found in her focus groups in pennsylvania or be offended by the parts that offend you, that's your decision, but some might call that white supremacist -- whistling past the political graveyard. dasha burns is live in harrisburg. a big night tonight, dasha, on a race she's been covering so closely. >> reporter: to your point, some of the questions about tonight, on the eve of debate yesterday the fetterman campaign did release a memo about what to expect tonight. and in that memo they

essentially sort of tried to lower expectations for their candidate. they said, "we'll admit this isn't john's format. if we're all being honest, oz clearly comes into tuesday night with a built-in advantage." they called the circumstances of the debate unprecedented referencing the closed captioning system fetterman will be using because of the lingering auditory processing issues. they closed the memo saying that john will win this race even if he doesn't win the debate. so that's the groundwork being laid by the campaign right now. i will tell you, as i've been talking with voters in pennsylvania, they are eager to see what happens as these two face off tonight. with this tight of a race, anything could tip the scales here. and there are some key voting groups that both of these candidates have been target, especially suburban women. we went to two different counties, a red county and a blue county, a dance studio and a gymnastics studio to talk with suburban women, a lot of them moms.

take a listen to what we learned. as election season tumbles toward the finish line in suburban philadelphia, the kids at upper marion dance and gymnastics center are flying and falling with abandon. but their moms worry about what happens when no one's there to catch them. >> inflation really impacts how you parent, what you can do with your kids. >> reporter: philadelphia suburbs like montgomery county are the new battleground. once republican strongholds, they helped put biden in the white house in 2020. now they're up for grabs again with issues like the economy and crime top of mind. >> safety in not only education but regular life, huge concern with little kids. >> reporter: both senate candidates targeting their messaging towards women here, republican dr. oz stoking fears about crime. >> -- deal with the crime and drugs that are creating lawlessness in the southeast of pennsylvania. >> reporter: and democrat john fetterman hanging his hopes on abortion access. >> that is a choice that belongs to you and it should always

belong to you. [ applause ] >> reporter: how big of a factor is abortion in terms of what you do with your vote? >> i'm certainly more pro-choice. i don't know if it's the top issue, but it is one of the more important issues for me. >> reporter: what do you look for in a candidate? >> for me it's mostly the social issues and having someone that's a true leader instead of pandering to their base. >> reporter: cindy is leaning democratic but hasn't made up her mind on the senate race. she's waiting for tonight's debate. many we talked to were still undecided. >> i just want to make my best decision, because i didn't make the best decision years ago. >> reporter: what do you mean by that? >> i feel like i voted for wrong person. >> reporter: who did you vote for? >> trump. >> reporter: trump one reason why democrats need to win big in montgomery county to balance out rural democrats in places like luzerne county. amy, a mom of two, is part of

that shift. but you were registered as a democrat. >> i am a registered democrat. >> reporter: and you are now. >> mm-hmm. >> reporter: but you're more conservative at this point. >> yes, i am. >> reporter: it's similar issues that have parents' heads spinning here, but luzerne could end on a different vote. >> i honestly believe it will be more of the same. i don't think he's going to be tough on crime, which is what we need right now. >> reporter: for these women, the outcome of this election is personal. >> definitely the economy, gas prices, food prices. i'm single. i have five other jobs. >> reporter: five other jobs. >> yeah. >> reporter: what's your message to people in washington on both sides of the aisle about what that experience is like? what do you want them to know about what life is like right now? >> don't forget about us. >> reporter: guys, a teacher

holding down five other side hustles. this stuff is personal. people care. what's interesting, i walked into these interviews thinking luzerne county, montgomery county, two very different places, different demographics, we'll hear about different issues in these places. but there it was. the economy, inflation, and crime, top issues for women in both counties, and abortion not quite the big driving factor that it was when i was talking to voters over the summer, guys. >> dasha burns giving us another great look inside these races in pennsylvania. dasha, thanks so much. we appreciate it. joe, interesting to hear the one woman saying something probably true of a lot of pennsylvanians, i'm waiting to see what happens in the debate tonight. they're busy. they want to look at these two candidates tonight. >> it's so important to recognize that, and what a great package because it actually took me back to when i was knocking on doors when i was talking to

people, and i always thought about the big issues that we would be talking about at the time in washington. and of course now we're talking about january 6th, democracy, and yes, my liberal friends, the end of democracy, yes, it's critical and foremost in my mind. you can talk about the supreme court. you can talk about a lot of other issues. but voters, i always found -- i always would talk to voters face-to-face and go, oh, wait, they don't read "the new york times" and "wall street journal" and "washington post" every day. they don't follow the news so closely every day. they're worried about gas prices. they're worried about groceries. they're worried about inflation, something we talked about, willie. the closing of schools had a huge impact in the virginia race. elise spoke with pennsylvania voters. they're looking at their kids who have fallen dramatically behind only test scores,

especially math scores. >> yeah. >> they're holding down several jobs. their wages are going up, but inflation is going up faster. these are issues that when you knock on people's door or put a camera in their face, these are the issues that voters are focusing on far more than very important issues that we talk about every day here. >> dasha's reporting tracked what we heard last week when we were in philadelphia and pittsburgh. swing voters, especially women, very concerned with inflation and impact on their lives and their family lives, and they're concerned about the rising crime, and abortion is an issue, but it is not the only issue. it really becomes a voting issue when there's a real draconian candidate who wants to completely ban abortion, which is why i think that doug mastriano's chances are very low in his gubernatorial bid. but the verdict is still out on

whether dr. oz has moderated enough. then we'll see tonight what john fetterman does in this all-important debate. >> it is very important. we'll be watching that tonight. and in the race for florida governor, last night was the first and only debate between republican incumbent ron desantis and his democratic challenger, former florida governor charlie crist. the two spar on a number of issues including culture wars, immigration, and the speculation that desantis may run for president in 2024. >> i thought what the governor did was a horrible political stunt. you know, we have an immigration problem. we have a problem at the border. we need to secure the border. i agree with all of that. but it doesn't mean that you use florida taxpayers' dollars to charter two jets, go to texas, lie to people to get them on to planes, fly them up to the northern part of our country, and one is a 1-year-old baby,

another is a pregnant woman. they're willing to use people like that. in this case, they were hispanics, venezuelan in particular. and have them as props for your political gain? that's not the way to change policy. >> you say you're going to secure the border, but this is all happening under the biden administration and the policies that currently you support. it's only when they go to d.c., new york, or of course martha's vineyard that they say all of a sudden, they say, we have elites that want to impose policies on you but don't want to suffer the same consequences you may have to in your community. >> talk about joe biden a lot. i understand, you think you're going to be running against him. i can see how you might get confused. but you're running for governor. you're running for governor. i have a question for you. you're running for governor. why don't you look in the eyes of the people of the state of florida and say to them if you're re-elected, you will

serve a full four-year term as governor. yes or no? yes or no, ron? will you serve a full four-year term if you're re-elected governor of florida? it's a fair question. he won't tell you. >> we did not agree on the candidates' asking questions. governor, it's your turn. >> i know charlie wants to talk about 2024 and joe biden, but i just want to make things very, very clear. the only warn-out old donkey i'm looking to put out to pasture is charlie crist. >> he's just bad. >> and charlie crist joins us now, you worn-out all donkey. >> he stared like lost. >> i know. >> like he was confused. >> this worn-out old donkey kept asking him questions. >> worn-out old donkey. hello, worn-out old donkey. >> good morning, joe. hi, mika. >> fascinating. >> what the hell? what was that?

>> he looked like a deer in the headlight when you asked that question to him. i'm sorry. what's with that, charlie? >> what's up with that? i don't know. i don't know. i have no idea. the guy's a bully. he likes to talk down to people. it's embarrassing. he should be embarrassed and ashamed. >> you're former republican, now democrat. i'm a former republican, independent. but we both believe the free market. i want to talk about that. you brought it up last night. i'm glad you did. as a conservative, i'm still a conservative, as a conservative i'm really scared when a centralized state tells businesses what they can and can't do. i'm really scared when a centralized state tells, oh, i don't know, people that run cruise liners in the middle of a pandemic that they can't take steps to keep their own people safe and make money. i'm really concerned what it

does to local businesses. i'm really concerned when he steps in and tells local school districts in a state that has 67 counties you must do everything exactly as i tell you how to do it. you said this guy is a bully, but more than that, it seems like he's playing the strong-man routine. how dangerous is that not just for democrats but for conservatives like me in the state of florida? >> well, it's remarkably dangerous. i'm glad you brought it up. i believe in free enterprise, not unfree enterprise. and it seems like governor desantis wants to dictate to everybody, including walt disney world, the cruise industry in our state, and it goes on and on, about how they should comport themselves and do their business. that's the opposite of free enterprise. i believe in free commerce, making sure that small businesses and large businesses have the opportunity to do their business in the way they feel is appropriate. and governor desantis went after disney world. who in the world goals after

mickey mouse, for crying out loud? in florida? i mean, this is a revered icon in our state, disney world, and he attacks them, and for what? for exercising their right to free speech? i mean, the guy went to harvard and he doesn't understand the constitution. look, i went to florida state law school and i get it. i don't know why he doesn't understand it. but what he's doing is wrong. it will get thrown out of court. it's clearly unconstitutional. he's not doing the right thing for people and focused on property, insurance, unaffordability, the price of gas, the price of utility bills in our state have skyrocketed under governor desantis. it's wrong. he's taken his eye off the ball as i said last night, and he's focused on running for president and won't even admit it. unbelievable. >> charlie, gorge. four years ago, a big margin. now a new poll has you leading

among latino voters by seven points, which would represent a massive swing. what's going on there? >> well, i think that's going to change and i'll tell you why. his stunt that he pulled by sending those venezuelans, hispanics, up to martha's vineyard was insulting, it was wrong, it was inhumane. and even on conservative talk radio in miami-dade county, they were saying on the spanish radio, they were comparing desantis to castro. that's not me. that's the hispanics in miami-dade county. that sinks in and that will take a toll. we have two weeks left until this election happens. i think people got a real taste of the different styles of leadership between desantis and myself. if you want to help us, go to my website and make a difference in the outonly of this election. florida deserves better than what we're seeing, willie. >> elise, just to inject that same telemundo poll, some

supported his move to send those migrants to martha's vineyard. >> that's why i think this is such a confusing issue, charlie. i really expected for there to be more outcry over taking and using human beings as political pawns, but desantis seems to know what his voters want, and he seems to actually have potentially benefited electorally from this student in martha's vineyard. >> well, let's talk about the polling industry. a week before the primary, a poll came out i was four points behind my opponent. i won by 30 points. so, polling is up and down and in and out, and i don't know what, you know, to put on that telemundo poll. all i care about is the poll that happens on election day. that's what really matters in our country, and thank god for that. i look forward to november the 8th. i hope everybody is voting or early voted started yesterday in

florida. i think we're going to have record turnout like georgia has because people are passionate. particularly women are passionate in their right to choose. and desantis signed a law that doesn't even have exceptions in his ban, doesn't even have exceptions for rape or incest. that is barbaric. it is unconscionable. and i'm sure it's not what floridians want. >> all right. nominee for governor for florida, charlie crist. thank you so much. >> we appreciate you. >> we greatly appreciate you being here. we have some really sad news that's breaking right now. ash carter, wonderful friend of dr. brzezinski, a friend of ours, former secretary of defense, has passed away. major cardiac event last night. and just -- this is -- the

harvard kennedy school, staff and fellows announce with deep and profound sorrow that our colleague, teacher ash carter pass aid way yesterday evening after suffering a heart attack. and, mika, again, your dad, your dad had such great respect for him, as did everybody in the foreign policy field. he seemed to be in really good shape. >> he did. >> he was very active. it was wonderful seeing him at the pentagon, talking to him there. he had such a clear ideal of the world, a clear-eyed view of what the united states needed to do to protect our interests at home and abroad. and of course just a very special guy. >> he was a wonderful guy.

i'm just thinking of his family right now. >> i know. >> his wife. this is not -- he was young. he was, like, 68 years old. >> he was 68. mike, just a wonderful guy. we, in fact, we would see him often at fenway and sit and talk to him. again, he was kind of like when talking with dr. brzezinski, he had such a steady force and such a clear-eyed view of the world. ash carter, secretary carter, the same, whether you're talking at the pentagon or in between innings at fenway. >> joe, i got to tell you, this is a shock to me. ash carter, 68 years of age. i spoke to him last thursday, and everything you've just said, mika and joe, is so true about him. he was a strong, strong leader and a strong believer in the power and how to use the power of the united states when he was

secretary of defense and everything else that he did in government dating back a couple of different administrations. and he will be sorely missed because he had a commonsense approach to the usage of power in the globe to the reputation of the united states globally, a brilliant guy, a strong guy, a courageous guy. 68, far too young. >> yeah. and stephanie, our heart goes out to you. we're here for you. we're so sorry. again, former defense secretary ash carter has died at the age of 68. >> yeah. >> we'll be right back. two to make it outta sight♪ ♪one, two, get loose now! it takes two to make a-♪ get double rewards points this fall. book now at bestwestern.com.

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back with some breaking news out of russia where brittney griner had her appeal in a russian court rejected. that russian court announced it will uphold the original sentence of nine years in prison. she's been detained according to the united states wrongfully

since february after cartridges containing less than a gram of hashish oil were found in her luggage and she was arrested on drug charges. she now is expected to be moved to a penal colony. further appeal is possible. in a statement this morning, the white house called today's hearing a sham and said it continues to, quote, engage with russia through every available channel and to make every effort to bring home brittney. >> representatives from multiple nato countries say russia's allegations that ukraine is preparing to use a so-called dirty bomb on its own territory is a pretext russia has created for possible escalation. in a rare joint statement, diplomats from france, britain, and the united states rejected what they called, quote, russia's transparently false allegations. more than two dozen democratic lawmakers are urging president biden to dramatically shift his strategy on the war in ukraine. in a letter sent yesterday, 30

democrats led by progressive caucus chair pramila jayapal, are calling on the president to pursue direct diplomacy with russia. they argue a more forceful attempt at diplomacy is necessary to bring the months-long conflict to an end. the letter was criticized by some centrist democrats for potentially legit newsing vladimir putin's crimes in ukraine. hours after the letter was released, the caucus sent a rare follow-up statement to clarify its original message, writsing in part, "we are united as democrats in our unequivocal commitment to supporting ukraine in their fight for their democracy and freedom in the face of the illegal and outrageous russian invasion, and nothing in the letter advocates for a change in that support." >> wow. >> come on. >> mike, mike, mike.

did they walk in to kevin mccarthy's office and say we want to help you out here? you stuck your foot in your mouth about ukraine so we'll help you out here. just think about this. vladimir putin invades ukraine. vladimir putin commits war crimes against the ukrainian people. vladimir putin selectively targets apartment buildings to kill children. vladimir putin bombs playgrounds. vladimir putin orders his troops, when they leave towns, to deliberately target and kill all ukrainian civilians. and you have 30 progressives saying america must talk to russia. something's left out of that

equation. that would be the ukrainian people who are victims of war crimes every day, mike. what planet do these people live on to think that you can make peace with vladimir putin without first running it by ukrainians and the ukrainian people and their leader zelenskyy, who is literally fighting for his life? and the ukrainians are literally fighting for their lives. >> well, what you said, joe, just now resulted in the second letter. it's like the cuban missile crisis. we'll respond to the second letter they posted rather than the initial letter because in the initial letter everything that you just said would pertain to a critique of that letter. why would you negotiate with vladimir putin? he is a war criminal. he has used the same strategy that the russians used in world war ii, destroy and demonize your opponent, try to make your

opponent so fearful by killing innocent civilians, by bombing schools, hospitals, sanctuaries, cathedrals, kill the civilians. that's how you win the war. that's how the russians think that they can defeat the ukrainians. they can't defeat the ukrainians that way. and the united states has no one to negotiate with in moscow because the leader of russia is a war criminal. >> yeah. willie, oh, my gosh, i came up with this great idea -- talk to vladimir putin. negotiate with vladimir putin. why didn't anybody think about that before -- oh, wait, they did. and we've been jabbering on as a country, rightfully so, about off-ramps, off-ramps, and while we're talking about off-ramps to help this guy get out of the corner of one of the most criminal and most idiotic decisions that any international leader has made in our lifetimes, while we're talking

about putin's off-ramp, putin is targeting civilians. he's deliberately committing the war crimes. he's ordering that his soldiers gun down civilians as they retreat from towns. talk to vladimir putin? we tried that. he doesn't want to talk, willie. >> no, he's not interested in talking. they talk about vigorous diplomatic efforts in that letter signed by 30 democratic progressives without saying exactly what that would look like or how it might persuade vladimir putin to get out of ukraine. other news this morning, jury selection began yesterday in the trial of the trump organizations, parent of what the manhattan district attorney alleges was a 15-year scheme to compensate top executives of former president donald trump's company off the books to help them to avoid paying taxes. the initial number of potential jurors was quickly cut by more than half with one lawyer saying there was a lot of bias concerning the trump organization. the star witness in the trial will be former trump

organization cfo allen weisselberg, who agreed to testify in the trial under a flee agreement. under new york law, the trump organization faces more than $1.5 million in penalties if convict on all counts. mika? supreme court justice clarence thomas yesterday ruled in favor of senator lindsey graham, temporarily blocking a subpoena that would have required the senator to testify in the fulton county, georgia, 2020 election interference probe. the 11th circuit court of appeals ruled against graham last week, saying he would have to answer questions about a pair of phone calls he made to georgia election officials following the 2020 election. the senator's lawyers argue his actions are protected under the constitution's speech and debate clause. justice thomas' decision to put the case on hold while the supreme court decides whether to grant the senator's request to

kill the subpoena. thomas handles all emergency requests from georgia, but many believe he should have recused himself. his wife, ginni, has questioned the 2020 election and lobbied officials to overturn the results. that's a little tight. up next, an nbc news exclusive. stephanie ruhle's sitdown with treasury secretary janet yellen. we'll hear her take on inflation, a potential recession, and whether a republican-controlled congress would make economic recovery more difficult. stephanie joins us next on "morning joe." okay season 6! aw... this'll take forev—or not. do i just focus on when things don't work,

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it's nice to unwind after a long week of telling people how liberty mutual customizes your car insurance so you only pay for what you need! (limu squawks) he's a natural. only pay for what you need. ♪liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty.♪ for people who are a little intense about hydration. neutrogena® hydro boost lightweight. fragrance-free. 48-hour hydration. for that healthy skin glow. neutrogena®. for people with skin. inflation will come down over the next year or two, so i believe that what they're doing will work. >> do you believe it's peaked? >> so, i'm not positive. i don't want to forecast month by month inflation numbers.

the most recent data suggests we still have inflation that's unacceptably high, but there are good indications earlier in the pipeline that inflation will come down. >> that's treasury secretary janet yellen giving her outlook on inflation in america while praising the resilience of the american economy. that was an exclusive interview with our friend stephanie ruhle on "the 11th hour" last night. she joins us now along with the co-host of cnbc's "squawk box," andrew ross sorkin. step, she says, yes, inflation is bad, we recognize that, but they're seeing some things in the pipeline that suggest that's going to change. what is she talking about? >> she is not ruling out a possible recession, but she's saying prices aren't getting lower as fast as we'd like, but we're on the right track. of course she points to the labor market, unemployment at 3.5%. she's out there touring the country talking about all of the

biden administration's accomplishments on the economy and, frankly, they need to. elise just did a focus group last week, and you hear it over and over, people talking about their economic woes. she makes really good points, though. it's easy for us to forget where we were two years ago, right? the economic peril we faced. massive layoffs during the pandemic. we did what we could. of course hindsight is 2020. when you look around, we are doing better. many countries around the world coming out of the pandemic. that doesn't make louise ruhle worry about how much my bacon costs. >> a shock right there. >> sure is. >> andrew, we're reading every day that the housing market is just crashing, so interest rates going up, obviously cooling down that market. it really is going down pretty quickly. gas prices still, even post saudi tightening, gas prices still seem to be going down at the pump right now. what's the main driver of

inflation? what do we need to focus on? >> well, look, and stephanie should be commended because it was a tremendous interview. i think that janet yellen is right that inflation is coming down, but the thing that's keeping it up thus far, one of the things i worry about is, you know, people talk about this idea of quiet quitting. i keep hearing about this idea of quiet firing, which is to say the ceo business community is thinking come the end of this year, early '23, there could be a lot of fires. not necessarily the ones that get announced with big headlines, 10% of the staff there, 15%, 5% of the staff there, but something that actually is a little more insidious in some ways. the question is whether we start to see the unemployment rate tick higher. you can argue that's actually what the white house and the administration wants in some respects, but, boy, is that a tough political conundrum to be in. you get inflation down but unemployment moves the other way. >> andrew, you have to run.

you're a busy man. thanks for checking in. see you tomorrow. steph, you talked with the secretary about growing fears of recession. >> when we have 3.5% unemployment rate and the 300,000 jobs a month for the last three or four months or longer, that is not what most people think of as a recession. i think inflation will come down, people will feel better about the economy as that occurs, and -- >> no recession. >> i -- it -- i can't rule out the risk of one, but as i said, i believe there is a path toward bringing inflation down in the context of a strong labor market. >> steph, it was interesting yesterday, goldman sachs came out with a report saying we're not so sure there's going on a recession. they've downgraded it to 35%

chance, which kind of goes against the consensus. are you persuaded by what the treasury secretary said there? >> not necessarily persuaded. joe said a moment ago the housing market is crashing. remember, it's not necessarily crashing. we asked for the housing market to cool down. remember, it was six, nine months people are saying i can't afford to find a place anywhere. people trying to sell their houses and can't replace it with anything. we needed somewhat of a cooldown. and andrew made that interesting point, it's as though the white house would like to see unemployment tick up. i know that sounds terrible, but we've got a cushion. we can afford to see that happen, and we need a little bit more of a rebalancing to balance things out. it's a tough road. but remember, as hard as this is for democrats, republicans have made not one single pitch on how they would solve the economy. it's a complicated situation. >> i'm sure we can go on the site and watch the full interview, but in totality, what most struck you from the interview with secretary yellen

yesterday? >> she said she's staying on the job after the midterms. there's so much scuttlebutt out there that post midterms she's not going to be in that position anymore. she said she wants to stay on. but, remember, if we see democrats lose two weeks from now, you have to assume that some of the president's economic advisers will have to shoulder some of the blame. janet yellen herself, along with the rest of the administration, was keen to say a year ago i interviewed her, and she said inflation is transitory. it's only going to be short term. nope. it wasn't. she might have to pay for that. >> stephanie ruhle, we'll be watching "the 11th hour" weeknights on msnbc for more. shout-outs to new jersey grocery stores. >> you know it. >> mika? >> got to like that. jersey. >> yeah. >> we've showed you this morning act every poll in every senate race there is and also they're in the margin of error. unaffiliated voters, a voting

bloc our next guest says is on the rise and is side of divisive politics. senior reporter and producer covering congress for "the washington post," rhonda coe vin. thanks for being here. there's a highlighted part that i find fascinating. i'd seen these numbers move up in states like connecticut a couple years ago, but i can't believe it's nationwide, that a january gallup poll found unaffiliated voters make up 42% of americans well ahead of 29% who say they're democrats and 27% who say they're republicans. that's a lot of voters. what's the impact? that is a lot of voters. and that poll with gallup is actually a reference asking that question. the unaffiliated voters when they register to vote, they don't check the box for republican or democrat. they want to vote on the issues

and the candidate. one nevada voter said if i went into a job interview and talked about how bad the other people were, i wouldn't get that job. why do we allow politicians to be able to get these jobs based on talking about how awful their opponent is? >> yeah. you know, rhonda, the fact that so many people say now they're independents or unaffiliated, could that be one of the randy johnson why polls diverge so wildly? in the state of florida, you had every different polling outfit trying to predict how the unaffiliated voters in florida would go because they're not republicans or democrats. and they ended up being wildly off in 2020. >> yeah. the rise of unaffiliated voters could really impact that polling. if you think about it, a lot of unaffiliated voters are voting on issue, they're waiting to see how candidates might react, waiting to see if candidates will come to them and campaign where they are to talk about the issues they care about, not just the issues on one side or the

other. so it could be that unaffiliated voters are sort of a wild card. we've seen that in primary season, especially in north carolina, where they now make up the largest voting bloc there. you do see them as somewhat of swing voters. i would call them wild cards, that they'll vote on a candidate based on the issues. >> is there a particular state we should be looking at to see unaffiliated voters having a huge impact? you mentioned north carolina. i guess nevada also 1 in 3 voters there unaffiliated? >> absolutely. nevada given that it has this toss-up u.s. senate race, i would say is one to watch. that's one i'm definitely going to be watching on november 8th and the days after that. north carolina, as i mentioned, has a high rate of unaffiliated voters. that is because they have a lot of young people in the state. they also have a lot of people who have moved from other parts of the country into north

carolina, and that's changing the electorate there a little bit. so, because those two places have very tight u.s. senate races, north carolina and nevada, i would take a look at those on election night. >> all right. "the washington post's" rhonda colvin, thank you very much for your reporting. we'll keep an eye out. coming up next, the major news involving kanye west this morning as adidas cuts ties with him, some say finally. will his other corporate partners follow suit? that's next on "morning joe."

live look at los angeles. what a beautiful shot as the sun comes up at 6:52 a.m. west coast time. adidas stock is down 20% in the last month after the sportswear company was one of the few not to cut ties with kanye west following a series of

anti-semitic remarks. among other things, this morning the company finally decided enough was enough. and stephanie gosk has the latest. >> reporter: breaking news, a de-cass confirming it is ending its partnership with kanye west, now known as ye. the company saying that ye's recent comments and actions have been unacceptable, hateful and dangerous and violate the company's values of diverse it i and inclusion, mutual respect and fairness. the rap star made a series of anti-semitic comments. the brand under fire for its association with west. west doubling down on its anti-semitic messages overnight. >> it is genocide and population control that black people are in today in america that is promoted by the music and the media that black people make that jewish record labels get paid off. >> reporter: this past weekend a

group of neo-nazi members hung a banner showing support for his comments. kim kardashian tweeting that i call on the hateful rhetoric to do it an end. industry analysts estimate that the sales of his products bring in up to $2 billion a year year. and amid all the controversy, the company released its latest yeezy boost sneakers over the weekend. >> and they could be in the pipeline months in advance. >> reporter: and on monday, talent agency caa said that it cropped west as a client. and a production company is shelving a new document taker about him. but the musician and designer refusing to back down.taker about him. but the musician and designer refusing to back down. >> i could say anti-semitic

things and adidas can't drop me. now what? now what? >> yeah, now what. and joining us now, founding partner at the media venture puck, an entertainment lawyer and former editor for the hollywood reporter. also with us, democrat state senator scott weiner of california. and host of "politics nation," reverend al sharpton. >> matthew, let's start with you. fallout began earlier this week. others followed it slowly, but certainly adidas took their time. but right now, it appears that kanye is getting it from all sides. it appears to be just almost a unified front against him. >> absolutely. it will be very difficult for

him to tour, live nation has said that they won't work with him. his agents at caa said that they will not work with him on any tour upcoming. his music is still available on the major platforms and that is a whole separate issue, a very slippery slope when you go down that road. but most of the financial partners now have abandoned him. >> senator weiner, we saw part of the problem with kanye west's comments his amplifying them which is that it gives license to others to sort of come out from the shadows like the people hanging the signs in your state. what do you make of adidas' move and how dangerous do you believe it is to have somebody as prominent as kanye west saying these things? >> thank you for having me. i'm glad that adidas did this, i know that they will take a big hit to their bottom line but they did the right thing. and what kanye did, it is important to acknowledge how harmful and deeply dangerous it

is. yes, anti-semitic, but it is not just anti-semitic. he literally said that he was going to start killing jews. and now these people, you know, hurl this banner over the freeway in l.a. saying that, quote, i agree with kanye on the jews. and historically we know that rhetoric, hateful rhetoric against the jews, conspiracy theories about jews, he said that jews control the media, control hollywood, very anti-semitic tropes, historically for centuries and centuries, those kind of conspiracy theories about jews, that we control the world, that we're ruining things for people, are followed by people killing us. and so canyeah -- it is despicable and hateful what he is doing. >> obviously this was a massive business decision to cut ties

with kanye west. but they are the last of many companies to walk away from him. this guy who has made a lot of people a lot of money over the years. >> kanye is a great artist, but it is now clear that it is intentional. you just played a sound bite, when i say something anti-semitic, they can't drop me. so we can't even argue whether it is intentional. 25 years ago mrs. king sat me down and said whether or not you mean it, you need to clean it up. this is not saying i didn't understand that, i didn't understand. this is somebody owning this. so if he is going to own that he is anti-semitic, how can adidas use him or anybody else to advertise what they sell? he is saying george floyd didn't die of the knee, that it was drugs. so i mean, how many times is he going to cross the line and now even having banners raised saying praising him as being anti-semitic. and you are going to have him

advertise your product. that is not -- bottom line decision shouldn't be that, do you have a moral compass that the company should ask. >> and there is an article in the "new york times" this morning talking about how the "me too" movement many people fear is on its back heels right now. certainly we've seen cancel culture sort of take more of a back seat over the past six months or so. people who have been canceled in the past now moving back into the mainstream. and also i think hollywood being a little less reluctant to cancel somebody's career overnight. that said, this really is not a close call. this is not a close call. this guy has overstepped every boundary. you don't put this in the cancel culture, do you. this is just out and out anti-semitism. >> absolutely. this is not a hard one. especially when someone like a very prominent leader within the

entertainment industry writes an op-ed on the issue rnlgs this is not a tough one. every company around hollywood was evaluate beingoff the past week or so if they had any business with kanye. the only qualifier here is that the companies that have old works, that don't currently work with him, but for instance netflix has a documentary on the service about kanye that was produced in collaboration with him. they have not said that they are taking it down, but they are keeping it up because it is old and not something that they are currently involved with. same thing with the music. his old label said that they won't pull the music. we'll see if that holds. but for anyone doing business with him, it is a very easy call. >> senator, final word. >> you know, violence against jews in this country is not they're receiptity cal.